Magnetic separators



July 23, 1957 THOMA Q 2,800,230

MAGNETIC SEPARATORS Filed July 14. 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO INVENTOR. HANS THOMA,

A r roe/vys Juiy 23, 1957 H. THOMA MAGNETIC SEPARATORS Filed July 14.1954 5 Sheets-Shem. 2

INVENTOR. HANS THOMA ,MMJQUBM y 1957 H. THOMA 2,800,230

MAGNETIC SEPARATORS Filed July 14, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 00000000000 0OO O INVENTOR. HANS THOMA,

Juiy 23, 1957 H. THOMA 2,800,230

MAGNETIC SEPARATORS I Filed July 14. 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 5 JNVENTOR.HANS THOMA,

M Ma PM A TTOIQ/VEYS United States Patent'fC,

2,800,230 Ratented July. 23, 1957 Figs. 3.and 4 show elevations of aseparator element ;forming part= of the invention.

Fig; 5 shows inelevation a form" ofconstruction which 2,800,230smaymeplacethe-ielement.shown in: Fig. 4. "MAGNETIGSEPARATQRS 5 Eigl 6is asectionalviewlaken on line 6+6 of Fig. 5.

Hans Thoma, Zurich, Switzerland, assignor to Jean Thoma, Zurich,Switzerland Application Julys14,,:1954,:Serial LNo.s i43;319'

- ,Claimspriori y, pp icat nG r xJ ly15,1953.

1 55. Claims. (Cl. 210-423) The, present .inventionjrelates to,magnetimseimmtors T FiQQj is a sectionaltview of a detail'of a portionof e d-mor p c a y to u tip enm epata orszwhie to,v remove.mag'netizable toreign bodiesout; of liquids, predominantly: oil, or-frprn ;circula masses, -=f0r ins ance sm ll p i les'or; igainsz' of i-Letal,

EheknQW ep t r f this type:heretot reusedshaxe the disadvantage thatthey allow aelargealmmbnfi': f

Pa l e en m gnetism" magnetizable inartielea, to new y; uni p -v rtermoresuch senaratorsnare Qperation. I a 1 With the-above inwiew it is;wobi et ofizthe:present "invention to provide a magnetic separatorY$tfllvf01jgth6 rr dy r mo l otipart-ielesdromn any sys em-of feedingA-f r-x bi t o imy nv ntion is 'iQi-PLQY dea-tniagnetie separato hav ntleast on -encased K EQdrIi QESIIIOOth wniaene uwith a plu ality o polesnieasing thmziwhioh fl ws afluid; oabeisele ns du ndi inhwhi hthe-teasing fonithernagn t s rves, s a eonduetor- 1 Y Fig. 6.

Fig; 8 is a vertical sectional .view of another embodiament rof .=theiinvention.

::z Big-:2 is asection taken on line 9--.9. of Fig. 8.

Fig: :10is a -sectionaltviewof a battery of. separators storming part ofthe invention.

--Figs.s L1 and l2ishow modifications ofi the internal ararangementofaxseparatoriunit according to. the invention, n

TFigSJ-l131"and 14.Sh0W further modification of magneticseparator-elementsarranged in the'gsanie thousing. *1- Referring nowv toa the drawings =.wherein like reference tcharacte'rsiirefer to likeparts thruout, it will benoted that Figurestlaand 2 showas indicateda-lpreferred emwbodiment ofuthe invention in, cross-section wherein M is11a: magnet bar or core which for instance has its" north 'Lpole at'N-and its south pole at S. This magnetbar is :g'enerallyiof aroundorcylindrical cross-sectiona How- .evei'; a=:barof square or polygonalcross-section-mayalso abet used in accordance withimy invention",this=latter type of section having particularlystrong-magnetic fields'at its corners and isn-therefore ,sometimes to. he: preferred. Around'the magnet bar there isplacedaprotective jacket conforming .with oradapted to the cross-seetionof -the imagneti M I but preferably allowingfor a' -slight clearance, ,asshown; -The Jacket H accordingly will haveas shown-a ,rbundLtuhuIar.cross-section when a round nzagnet barlisinsedstsaid jacket Hi consists of non-magnetic material usiichoas-brass;.-al-uminurn,- or -plastic, or a-tube of hard itteatedonuntreated paper orthe like. In this-manner -there'is provided anextremely smooth; magnet bar; which .s ha'satheispecial feature that itcan: be :very easily cleaned inasmuch ias'uthe smooth i non-magneticsurface'does not oppose any resistance to the: wiping ofi of thematerial ivhichi has rbeenvseparated out of the. fluid passing-thin;thi?idVlG6i as shown: 7 Furthermore, ;rnagnet' is pro-,tectedgagainsttdamage and flaking off of its parts. -Also,

- Oth r bi tsqandrfeatu es QfmYalBYQZIflQH' will-be m w r m=tewhereintfollow d ssrin ion ta-k'einin e ni ncti nwith-aheaccompanyingdrawings.

, Theinventionmomprises onz h s onehand in conducting liql iiif rinstance oilttq be purifi d in; anoil lubricating r mma ng=systemiinssuoh 1a :mannem byime ,use of onrniagnetic gui i swal ori t ,themagnetic; ,field which; do not e any: separating t q n e p rfll iqugbyrihei i. Burthermore, h senonzma net e walls embod es; also. have,iheiproperty qfirgreatlyafa' friableuand provided :with a roughssurfaceso athat the :removal of theseparated.zadherentizmaterial;isr;nonx n1yzmadendiflicultjbut; inpaddition ,-fragments of this :brittlemateriahwhich are frequentlyrextremely hard, frequently flake ofi'andentervthe' oil-circuit. Somezmagriet thodie's @consist of ;acompr essedpowder whichevery readilyi dis- Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line2 -2 of cross seetional 'Miew of 2a titscansbe readilyremoved, with its"jacket or'housing H, which jacket has arm-upper part HAwhose top portionvhasntliread V meshingwith the -threaded portion of a suitable containerB to which a liquid or'flnid" to be toleansediofi magnetic ormagnetizableimpurities is ;for examplemfedinto the unitU at inletEiwhile the purified liquid or fluid leaves theseparatortank Fat'ontlets' O. It isto beinoted and it is extremel'y irrip ortantthattlie i'liquid ori'fiuid which is to bepurified is not introdilcedrintoaanysxparts of the magnet icfield at which there does mob-exist r aisufii'cient magnetic gradient as required ac- .cording to the inventionin order-to remove the impuri- :-.ties tin .a successive andcontinuous-manner. Such a defect would be present in the separatoraccording to Figures 111 and=2 if thecontainer B consisted of-magneticmaterial, for instancetiron, inasmuch as it is obvio'us thatanyferrdlrnagnetic bodies which were carried along would adh ererto-i-itheswalls of:.the container B: when passed near'said Wl1ile: ontheotherhand, it will adhere to the "itpasses close to the-latterandthereforethere accordingly exists in the center between the wall of theicontaineraB and the jacket H a: rather wide zone in which,theoferro-magnetic hodies are attracted neither inwards tb=the2magnet Mnor outward totthe outer container wall .;B.: Inasmuch as .the'maximumflow of velocityprevails precisely here in the center between-thesurface of 1;he niagrietsan'd \the oonta'inen wall 'B, and -inasmuch asthe viscous wall friction which is considerable, particularly in thecase of oil, does not enter into appearance here,

the action of this separator is good only when the container. B is madeof non-magnetic material, in which connection it may then also beadvantageous to make the same preferably smaller than that shown in thedrawing.

It is still more advantageous, however, to place a cylinder S made ofnon-magnetic material, for example of brass or of plastic materialaround the magnetbar M, and concentric to same, and to insert a barrierwall W which at the same time forces the liquid which is passing throughports G to enter the cylinder S, which may be perforated or consist of ascreen, and pass in the vicinity of the surface of the magnet M or thejacket H.

In this connection, the perforated cylinder S at the .same

time acts as a rectifier or as a means of reducing the' turbulence inthe fluid as it passes thru the unit U. Said cylinder S suppresses anyunnecessary turbulence of the liquid passing through during theseparating process and thus also increases, by virtue of this effect ofpure fluid dynamics, the efliciency of the magnetic filter. The cylin-.-.der S can be made so that it can be readily removed or in thevicinity of the jacket H surrounding same. The barrier wall W may also,providedtit is not too thick,

be made of iron inasmuch as its disturbing influence is only local andtherefore negligible.

The principle of the magnetic separator in accordance with the inventionas shown in Figures 1 and 2 can be further improved in various ways, forinstance on the one hand by increasing the magnetic field action and onthe other hand by improving its cleaning possibilities. An increase ofthe magnetic field action is obtained if,

, as shown in Figure 3, instead of having only one magnet M in thejacket H which supports the magnet a plurality of magnets M1, M2, M3, isso arranged that similarly 'magnetized magnet poles face each other,thereby setting up a magnetic repulsion in said areas.

In Figure 3, for example, there is shown a removable separator elementof this kind which is contained by the jacket H,

said element fitting into a separatorunit of the kindsuch .as shown inFigure l. V for purposes of illustration three magnets or plugs, M1, M2,Ma, of round or polygonal cross-section which are Said jacket H containswithinit so arranged with respect to each other. by means of theintermediate nonmagnetic separator pieces Z1 and Z2 and also an upperspacer member Z3. It will be noted 'that south and north poles alwaysface each other; In this way there is produced, in addition to thefields which are present as in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 at theends of a composite magnet bar, a form of magnetic field which is verysuitable for the filtration, shown as F" in Figures 3 or 4, and also attwo further places .of the total length of themagnetic filter element.When a larger number of plugs or magnets M is selected, the

number of these separating magnetic field concentrations can also beincreased.

The intermediate members, Z1, Z2, Z3, may consist of non-magneticmaterial such as plastic, wood, etc., but

they may also be made of soft iron, in which case, it will beadvantageous to flute them as shown for instance in Figure 4. By thusplacing together the ditferent magnet pieces M held by a common packet Hand having similar poles facing each other, there is produced anextremely effective separator element, i. e., a separator element inwhich strong magnetic fields of high magnetic gradient are arranged in along, smoothly extending flow path,

which insures removal of magnetic particles from the l1qu1d to betreated, and which flows thru unit U and which reduces as much aspossible any turbulence in the In addition to the above, furtherimprovements relating to ease of cleaning the separator elements shownin Figures 1 to 4 are shown. In Figures 5 and 6 is shown by way ofexample a separator element having an internal magnetic arrangement inaccordance with Figures l to 4 in connection with which there areprovided a plurality of ribs R which are soldered or pressed on to theouter periphery of the jacket H. The purpose of this construction is toprevent the separator material adhering to the separator element frombeing scraped off upon the unscrewing or removal of the separatorelement, by mistake as a result of the eccentric guiding of theseparator element. In this connection, it will be noted also that theseribs R in the same way as the jacket H are appropriately made ofnon-magnetic material, for instance of several segments .R' of pressedsheet brass riveted together, each of which segments R has a shape asshown in Figure 7. Furthermore, the ribs R are also advantageous from astandpoint of flow dynamics inasmuch as,

in a manner similar to the cylinder S, they minimize the turbulence ofthe flowing liquid in the same manner as a guide wall or baflie.'Saidjacket H furthermore has a similar action inasmuch as it, in thesame manner as the cylinder S, avoids unnecessary-turbulence at the endsof element U of the material which has been separated out from the fluidbeing treated. In this case, the jacket H, has an internal arrangementcorresponding to that in Figures 1 to 4. It is, for instance, smooth onthe outside and is not provided with the ribsof the jacket H shown inFigures 5 to 7. In this embodiment is'provided a scraper B which iselongated and flat or provided with a twist or bend. Preferably, band Bis also non-magnetic and is arranged alongside the contour of jacket H:or placed around the jacket H in the manner of a helical thread. Thisscraper B can be turned from outside of "the unit U, for instance bymeans of the hand wheel HA connected therewith, whereby any magneticmaterial adhering tojacket H is wiped off from its external surface andis collected in the correspondingly large lower part 0' of the separatorcontainer B, from where it can then be removed periodically by thediagonally disposedoutlet A forming part of Unit U. An extension Sch ofscraper and the same housing. Figure 10 shows for example a B having apaddle-like or propeller-like appearance or shape can in this connectionfacilitate the removal of the sludge which has'been separated out. Inthis connection see Figures 9 and 10. In accordance with the inventionit is not necessary to use any special housing for each separatorelement, as shown for instance in Figure 1. Rather said separatorelements U can very advantageously also be arranged in batteries and inone separator arrangement in which a large number of separator elementsU made according to Figures 1 to 4 in a common container or housing B.Each separator element F is surrounded with a perforated sheet 'metalcylinder S in the same manner as described in connection with Figure 1,whereby a uniform passage of the liquid which is to be treated and whichis as far as possible free of turbulence is efiected at each separatorelement. A

separator is conducted in a dependable manner through 'the activemagnetic field of at least one separator element -and.thus unafiectedfluid flows such as. are present in other known designs and which arenot exposed at all to active parts of the magnetic field,-are avoided.Each :separator element can in this connection utilize ,'as required,additional devices for facilitating the cleaning.

in ane'e'hymeans. o 'th ili's i one c prevent'th na e 's'e lanineicfiiothe materia hfihasih en e r edxout of the. fluid hen un rew ng t separatoelem s, as xp in h onne tion with Fi ur s. 5 to 7, r any m h n al laning .deviceswhich p rmit... in the m nn r of he mbbdime t Qt Figure."thascraping or he smooth "surface oi hejaek dur g the. op ration withoutthe necessityoftahngefiyithingapart. Iiifthis o ne tion, o th -s ke" ompli i y, such-a clean n scraper'B as shown inlFigures S and? is notmade helical .but rather developed as, ,atsmoothscraner strip and posibly combined with the paddle Sch which mayfbelsonwwhat curved, inorder to facilitate the moving'of the material which has .been separatedout, to.a discharge hole Such aiseparator device can also be operatedusing electro-magnetsinstead of" permanent magnets, particu- :larly. a'sathei preferably. .round..shape:i of thetrse'parator1elementsgreatly..facilitates.the.provisionof coils.

t In. Figurel 11 is..sho.wn .for instance suchpan telec-tro which flowsthru the unit -U'FE "The-outer surface of said jacket H may also beprovided with ribs as shown in Figs. 5 to 7 or may bear a mechanicalscraping or cleaning de vice such as shown in Figures 8 to 10.

Figure 11 furthermore shows that even in the case of an electro-magneticsystem instead of a single bar-shaped magnet several magnets of the samepolarity can be arranged in tandem exactly as is advisable in the caseof the permanent-magnet separators in accordance with the embodimentshown in Figures 3 and 4. For this purpose, it is only necessary tochange the direction of the electromagnetic excitation in the individualsuperimposed coils in each case as indicated by the horizontal arrows inFigure 11. In the case of electro-magnetic cleaning devices of this typethe use of a non-magnetic jacket H is particularly advantageous as itprevents the penetration I of iron particles, which have been separatedout intothe coil windings S1 to S3, and thus prevents the said Windingsfrom being short-circuited by such particles. Instead of a rotatingcleaning member as shown for instance in Figures 7 to 8, there may alsobe used an axially movable disc, for instance a ring R1 as shown inFigure and which can move over the jacket H with moderate clearance.When in the operating position ring R1 is approximately at the upper endof the separator element and can be moved downward as required by anaxially movable actuating device Hn in order to scrape the separatedmaterial oil from the surface of the jacket H. On the other hand thedevice Hn can also be of such a nature that a ring may in the case of around jacket H be of round cross-section and in the case of a polygonaljacket, be a ring of polygonal cross-section, also it can 'be arrangedin a stationary manner in the housing in the vicinity of the upper endof each separator element.

In the case of a plurality of adjacent elements, a plate may be usedwhich is adapted to the outline of the jacket. If the magnetic separatorelements are then moved upwards, this plate scrapes off the materialwhich has been separated out whereupon the separator is again entirelyready for operation. In Figure 14 is shown such an arrangement by way ofexample. Jackets H1 and H2 hold respectively adjacent magnetic separatorelements and are arranged also in perforated cylinders S in a commoncontainer B. The arrangement of the separator elements corresponds tothe embodiments shown in Figures l to 4. However. they are not screwedfirmly into the antennae and of round, orp ly with the requirements asseuforth. herein. i' It a .sjtuflin'g :off.fof, the .sep-arate.d.material Lfiionith -cilitated so that under certain c rcumstancesitnecessary .torprovide. .thenunscrewingi.ofieach [individualseparatcrrelem n s ems as h wn' nfs' d sur s, b t. are, axialymqveolitaine .B. by m hs' f 1 commqmyqkef Y A P ate? i prcvidedtvithrecesses which" properly fit the jackets 'H,'Which plate 'may alsosuitablybe made of. steelsheetwithsharp edges, and which gu nd-supp r sth iaqke s H Wh ht 1 .c etslrl .j "a e nulled p ard. y-.-th'.thanttleath iplate l scrap scfithe m l-i wh chv has beenseparated ou asa resultldtwh ch th saidmat rial r psrto theihottom and can, beremovedperiodically by removingth cleanout screws SAF "0 c urse-ilisnossibleinthes, toprc iideleitherom oralla enumberof senarat mea s inhe 'fi1 er S id-j ckets may in this a c b .gonal cross-section, entirelyn accor 'containingthelrnaguet ormagnets.

' lirthe case .of electromagnetic,separators oflth'isype,

the cleaningcan efacilitated hyshuttingofitthecurrent during thecleaninli D ets his. th scraping orishaking .eket is Ifa- -..,nct

"In the case" of separatorielement sprovided; p rmanent magnets the sameprocedure can however'be elfected if the magnets are removed from thejacket. In Figure 12 is shown for instance such a separator element inconnection with which three magnets M1 to M3, in precisely the samemanner as described in Figure 3, are arranged with like poles in theaxis of the jacket H. By means of the handle HA, the entire magnetsystem, regardless of the number of parts of which it consists, can bethen removed in an upward direction. In this case all screw connectionsmay be eliminated at this place if the jacket H is inserted in aliquid-tight manner in the wall of the separator and if one refrains, asfor instance in the case of the embodiment according to Figure 1, fromproviding a hole L for pressure equalization between the separatorhousing and the inside of the jacket H.

Figure 13 shows that such a magnetic separator, particularly when aplurality of separator elements 'are to be arranged in one and the samehousing, is much simpler.- In this case, for instance three separatorelements with the non-magnetic jackets H1, H2 and H3 are arrangedrigidly on the cover D of the separator housing B. For the purpose ofcleaning, the permanent magnet systems are pulled out of the separatorjackets by means of the handle HA, whereupon the materials which havebeen separated out can be loosened from the jackets H, H2 and H3 even byhammer bl-ows or vibration of the cover D, without any injury to themagnets. When electro-magnets are used to produce the magnetic field, ingeneral it is merely necessary to shut off the current since they arenot damaged even by vibrations. In such case removal of theelectro-magnetic separator is unnecessary. In connection with theseseparators any permanently magnetic field which may be present canfurthermore be removed in the manner known per se by a weak current inthe opposite direction.

While preferred embodiments have been described and illustrated it willbe noted that changes as to form, arrangement of parts and use ofmaterials may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention as claimed herein:

I claim:

1. Apparatus for the removal of magnetizable particles in a fluid systemcomprising a housing thru which a fluid moves, means conducting saidfluid thru the housing, a

jacket set in the path of movement of said fluid, a' magnet inthejacket' for attracting magnetizableparticles therein, {concentricscreen means around the jacket, and means for removing the particlesattracted were jacket by said ,magnet.

2. Apparatus for the removal of magnetizable material ina' fluid systemcomprising a housing through 'which a fluid enters, cylindricalperforated means in said housing permitting the fiow of fluid therethru,a jacket concentric with said perforated means, said jacket beingnon-magnetic, and magnetic means in said jacket for drawing particles ofmagnetizable material to the jacket :without contacting the surface ofsaid magnetic means, said magnetic means and jacket being removable from'said housing "and said cylindrical perforated means and "said jacketbeing provided with scraping means for the fremoval' of adhering,magnetizable material from the exterior of said jacket.

3. In a magnetic separator, :an outer enclosing casing, a fluid inletand outlet openings" in said casing spaced from each other, a magnetwithin said casing, a non- I, magnetic impermeable jacket enclosing saidmagnet and having a smooth outer surface, a perforate ba'file ofnonmagneticv material surrounding said jacket, said baflie f' beingspaced from andloc-ated between the inner surface of said casing andthe/outer surface of said jacket, said inlet being upstream of saidbaffle and said bathe serving I to guide the fluid in directednon-turbulent flow'over the surface of said jacket.

4. The combinationaccording to claim 3 in which the 30 jacketis providedwith a plurality of outwardly extending ribs having smooth outersurfaces.

' the jacket.

j a non-magnetic jacket containing said atleast one magnet,

said jacket having a smooth outer surface which permits 'the liquidpassed through the vfilter to 'be conducted smoothly and withoutunnecessary turbulence through the magnetic field produced by said atleast one magnet, to-

I'gether with a movable scraper ring jclosely embracing said jacket andnormally located near the top of said jacket and means for at willmoving said scraper ring axially along the smooth outer surface of saidjacket for scraping separated material from said outer surface ofReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,806,001 Simms May 19, 1931 1,806,002 Simms May 19, 1931 2,117,361Rohrbach May 17, 1938 2,149,764 Frei Mar. 7, 1939 2,452,220 Bower Oct.26, 1948 2,466,839 Caldwell Apr. 12, 1949 2,583,522 'WillSlOW Jan. 22,1952 2,596,743 Vermeiren May 13, 1952 2,597,561 Blind May 20, 19522,678,729 Sp0dig May 18, 1954 y FOREIGN PATENTS 562,175 Great- BritainJune 21, 1944 584,392 Great Britain Jan. 14, 1947

